In the debate over guns, I have become somewhat amused and befuddled over the chatter regarding background checks. As you are probably aware, the U.S. Senate failed to pass a measure that would have expanded universal background checks for Internet and certain gun show purchases.

Some Second Amendment advocates say the expanded background checks will lead to gun registration and the government will know who has guns and where they are, which will make gun confiscation all that much easier when that day comes.

With all due respect, someone has been watching too many reruns of “Red Dawn’ on Netflix.

First of all, the idea is completely ridiculous. Second, if you’re reading this column right now, someone somewhere probably has composed a profile of you.

In your Internet web browser are “cookies” that keep track of what websites you visit. Some expire after you leave the web page, but others are more permanent. They take the information from the web page you surface and use it to target certain ads toward what it believes are your shopping preferences. I get a lot of advertisements from Amazon for movies, video games and comic books. Imagine that!

And it doesn’t have to be the Internet. Have you ever made a purchase at the store and used your credit or debit card?

Well, not to get all “1984” on you, but not only is Big Brother watching you, but he’s keeping track of your purchases so he can send you specials in the mail or even worse, print off a coupon based on your previous shopping experiences so you can use it the next time you go shopping.

I once told my wife that she would never have to worry about where I was when I wasn’t home because all she would have to do is go on-line, check my debit card account and she would literally see a pattern that involved several businesses on or near Monument Circle, with the final stop being the one where you can have a good martini and a cigar to close out the evening.

Of course we had that conversation over our cell phones which meant we could be traced anywhere. Anyone tracking our movements would have known where we were calling from and how long we had been talking.

And it wouldn’t have mattered if we were texting each other either, the result would have been the same.

If you don’t believe me, go on-line and check your cell phone usage. You will be not so pleasantly surprised at how much information Verison, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T have on you every time you talk.

Now, this is where someone will chime in and say, “Okay, Abdul. I see your argument. Our movements do get tracked, but there’s a big difference between a private company doing this and the government.”

Exactly! The government, be it state, local or federal is limited by the Constitution and law as to what it can and can’t do.

A private company can pretty much do whatever it wants with tracking and gathering your personal information because you gave them permission to do it by signing that document that you really didn’t read or you were in such a hurry to make that purchase that you just clicked on the “I Agree” button and gave up rights to your firstborn on his or her 21st birthday.

Do you get it now? I just find it ironic and funny at the same time that the people who will yell and scream about government invasion of privacy apparently have no problem giving up their rights to a private company.

And just to take things up one more level, with the government, you don’t really have a choice, per se. With the private company, you gave them money to track your every movement.

Big Brother is not only watching you, but he’s figured out a way to have you pay him to do it. Gotta love it!

Abdul is an attorney and the editor and publisher of IndyPoltics.Org. He is also a frequent contributor to numerous Indiana media outlets. including thestateousefile.com. He can be reached at abdul@indypolitics.org.